Anthology
by SMARTALIENQT
Summary: Sequel to “Songbook”. Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World’s challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK. Current drabble: Late Nights. Updated at 11:59:19, so it's still today! Hah!
1. Introduction

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely nothing. I don't even own the laptop I use to write these – it's actually a gift from my dad. So I can't possibly own Ryan, Kelsi, or anything else related to High School Musical. If I did, you guys would be able to tell. Trust me on this.

**A/N:** None on this particular chapter. The entire chapter IS an author's note.

* * *

**Anthology**

_Introduction_

I sat at my computer on Monday, November 17, 2008, with a feeling of dread. On that day, I posted one of the last drabbles in _Songbook_, which made me sad. I loved getting reviews, and basking in the warm glow of praise, and responding to people who got what I was trying to say with my 100-word limit.

So saddened was I by this that I decided to quickly read some of the new Ryelsi to drown out my sorrows, as it were. I saw something that boasted that it had answered "DC World's challenge". _What?_ I thought. _DC World has a challenge?_ So I went to DC World's profile, clicked on "Come What May", and found out I was not the only one who was sad that all the Ryelsi had run out. So, I answered it, took the challenge, and here I am.

Anyway, as I said before, I'm going to try to do as many of these as I can. The list below is the list of prompts. It's just in the order it was on the challenge: I'm just going to do the prompts in the order they come to me. They're not in any sort of chronology or anything. I'm just bouncing around the time line here.

Sick

Pizza

Saxophone

Money

Hate

Romantic

Failure

Support

Good Job

Moonlight

Opera

Mistakes

Hugs

Late Nights

Famous

A Phone Call

Laughter

Out of Tune

Map

Blue Jeans

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**A/N:** As always, I love reviews because reviews are love. Click on the little button over there (»»»») to go to the first drabble.


	2. Sick

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 200 words. Double drabbles are fun.

* * *

**Anthology**

_Sick_

Ryan Evans was most certainly not sick.

He wasn't sneezing himself blind every five minutes – no, that was his allergies.

He wasn't nauseous at all – he simply wasn't hungry.

And of course he didn't have a fever. He was a little cold, that's all. They were in New England, for God's sake! He was just a little chilly.

Kelsi wasn't buying it. She lay a cool hand on his forehead. "You have a fever," she told him in a concerned voice. He opened his mouth to reply, but she put her other blessedly cold hand on his lips. "_You have a fever_," she informed him, and dragged him out of their study hall before he could protest. Not that he wanted to. He was just going for a little lie-down, was all.

And so maybe he was sick. That didn't stop him from feeling antsy while Kelsi forced cough syrup and soup down his throat. So when Kelsi got the flu, two days after he got over it, he wasn't smug at all. And he most certainly did _not_ enjoy the moment when he felt her forehead and cheeks, and told her, "Oh, yes, you have a fever, Kelsi."

* * *

**A/N:** And so a new era begins! Please tell me what you think of my newest enterprise by clicking on the lovely green button placed directly under this paragraph, conveniently labeled for your convenience.


	3. Pizza

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 150 words. One-and-a-half drabbles are fun, too.

* * *

**Anthology**

_Pizza_

"Chinese or pizza?" Ryan called from the kitchen.

"Pizza," said Kelsi from the couch. "We had Chinese last night."

"Pizza, then," said Ryan, smiling as he punched in the numbers. "Yes, I'd like to place an order. To go, yes. I'd like one extra large everything pizza, please." Kelsi sat up in her seat. "Olives… sausage… anchovies… pineapple…" Kelsi leapt up from the couch, and dashed into the kitchen. He knew she hated olives! Not to mention the fact that she did not understand his fascination with pineapple. She signaled at him with her hands, but he moved his hands in a shooing gesture, and mouthed, _Not now_.

"Twenty minutes. Okay…" And he took his hand off of the flash button. He hadn't called at all. He hadn't even been connected.

Ryan Evans was on the floor with a squished fedora beneath him before he had the chance to laugh.

* * *

**A/N:** My dad pulled this on me once, but I was a bit younger and therefore did not have the physical capability to dive tackle him. Gullible people unite! And review, please. That's always nice. I have a little personal goal to get up to 200, but then, I also have a little personal goal to archive at least 1,000 words for Ryelsi (five stories with twenty drabbles each). Think we can do it? I have an idea how.

At the end of each review you give me, put down a word (for this chapter, put two to make up for the first one that I missed). I'll take the first twenty I see and make them into my next set of drabbles, then the next twenty for the next, and so on. But you only get to influence what I write if you REVIEW. Do you like this idea? Well, then, review!


	4. Saxophone

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 100 words.

* * *

**Anthology**

_Saxophone_

Maybe it was just his personality, but Ryan had always liked jazz. There was something about the flow of it that seemed right to him – it wasn't harsh and fast-paced like Sharpay's choice of music, but it wasn't dull and slow like classical, either. It was almost as if someone had taken their feelings and translated it into music – sometimes it was lively and happy, but sometimes you could listen to jazz and feel like crying.

Sort of like Kelsi's pieces.

And so when he heard the tones of an alto-sax wafting from the music room, he smiled. _Kelsi_.

* * *

**A/N:** If Zeke bakes and Troy sings and Martha dances, then Kelsi is so totally a closet saxophonist. _It makes sense in my mind_, okay?

Free publicity for the three people who responded to my A/N yesterday!

_Penny_ (the first person to notice!)

_A. Annie .N_ (two! YAY! I'm going to have fun with those two.)

_Dramione x3_ (who gave me a lot of wriggle room with her "bad" prompt - it's not bad, BTW)

If you respond to it after, you still get publicity, but you get to wait until the new set of drabbles comes out. I'm thinking of calling it _Collaboration._

Oh, and as to why I'm uploading now: a) I was afraid I'd be really late or not at all tomorrow, and b) I was bored.


	5. Money

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 101 words.

* * *

**Anthology**

_Money_

If there was one thing that Ryan and Kelsi did not have in common, it was money.

He was heir to half of the Evans estate, which, if you factored in the amount in his bank account and adjusted for interest, was quite a hefty sum.

She owned three things: the rights to her music, a boxed set of Broadway soundtracks (from _Aida_ to _Wicked_), and a book about famous composers.

Sharpay, of course, had disapproved from the beginning. "You're an Evans!" she'd said. "We _work_ with the little people, we don't _date_ them."

This made him only love Kelsi more.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh, the famed economic gap. Anybody ever seen _Titannic_? If you have, review! If you haven't, review anyway! There are only five more spots for drabble prompts, so I'll ask you all only to send in one, but it's first come, first serve. This should not, of course, prevent you from reviewing.

And may I say how stunned I am? The last time I had this many reviews, it was chapter _eleven_ of Songbook, and I only had four or five reviews a chapter. This is knock-me-over-with-a-feather amazing. This is blowing my mind. I'm thrilled! -skips through fields- Lalalalala...


	6. Hate

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 150 words.

* * *

**Anthology**

_Hate_

Sharpay hated Kelsi Nielsen.

Why shouldn't she? Kelsi'd only single-handedly ruined Sharpay's plans to get the song, seduce Troy, and get rid of the hypotenuse known as Gabriella. She didn't know it, of course – that girl was so painfully ignorant that she never saw what she was doing.

First, she had tripped in junior year. Everyone knew about that – Troy and Gabriella loved to joke about how it had brought them together.

Next, she had schemed with that back-stabbing brother to get Troy back with Gabriella. That alone had given her a black mark in Sharpay's book.

And now Ryan was refusing to get that song, because of some ridiculous line about how he "really liked her" and "didn't want to hurt her". Didn't he understand how important that scholarship was? Her plans were ruined… or were they?

Sharpay reached into her purse, and pulled out her cell.

* * *

**A/N:** DundunDUN!! Warning: I wrote the next couple of ones while extremely angsty, so ANGST WARNING for the few chapters after this.

I'm only going _slightly_ out of order here, which kills me, but I just have to. I think you guys would kill me if I left this hanging. Reviews are beautiful, wonderful things! I have 48 of them! I'm skipping around the room singing Disney songs out of sheer joy!


	7. A Phone Call

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 100 words.

* * *

**Anthology**

_A Phone Call_

"Hello?"

"_He doesn't like you."_

"What? I'm sorry, who is this?"

"_You know who I am. You went to prom with my brother, after all."_

"Sharpay? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize–"

"_Kelsi, listen to me. _He. Doesn't. Like. You._"_

"Wha-at? How… but why–"

"_It was all a trick, Kelsi. We _planned_ it. Ryan is supposed to get the song you wrote for Troy and Gabriella for me. Who do you think told everyone about Gabriella's Stanford thing?"_

"But Ryan… he would never…"

"_Puh-lease, Kelsi. He's an _Evans_. That's what we _do._ We're _actors_, Kelsi. Remember that. Toodles!"_

* * *

**A/N:** The drama! The agony! The heartbreak! The reviews?


	8. Mistakes

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 100 words – exactly 50 words per perspective. Say that ten times fast. :)

* * *

**Anthology**

_Mistakes_

Kelsi made mistakes all the time.

She was always tripping over things, or entering her locker combination wrong, or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. The only time she was mistake-less was when she was playing her music. She couldn't believe that her biggest mistake was Ryan.

Ryan never made mistakes.

He always knew the right moves to dance, the right things to say, when the audience wanted a jazz square or if they wanted cartwheels. The one time he'd ever made a mistake was not telling Kelsi about Sharpay's motives sooner. That was his biggest mistake.

* * *

**A/N:** I was so good at keeping to the list last time that I thought, _Heck, why not mix it up this time?_ Reviews are, as always, wonderful things. Don't make me write another limerick! -shakes Imposing Poetry Pen threateningly-

Oh, and BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I realized that I, being the imbecile that I am, completely forgot to upload "Knight" in _Songbook._ You guys may have already gotten alerts for it. So, if you have already reviewed chapter 13 (the chapter previously known as "Gift"), here's what you do:

1. Go to the story.

2. Go to chapter 13.

3. Read it. Love it. Squeal in ecstasy over it.

4. Go to "Dawn", now chapter 21.

5. Click the review button.

6. A little screen pops up in a new window. Click on the story window, go back to chapter 13, and review at your leisure.

7. If you haven't reviewed it yet, just review normally. Notice my use of the lucky number 7 to counter the bad luck of chapter 13.

That is all. Thank you for putting up with my stupidity. You guys get this chapter early because of my inaneness.

...Does anyone else appreciate the irony in having this announcement in the chapter called "Mistakes"?


	9. Romantic

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 100 words.

* * *

**Anthology**

_Romantic_

Kelsi was a hopeless romantic.

She knew that, in all likelihood, a guy wasn't going to appear on a white horse and sweep her off her feet while reciting Shakespeare, but it didn't stop her from sighing during soppy bits in movies and writing songs about love. And Ryan asking her to prom was straight from a Jane Austen novel.

And then to have her suspicions confirmed, to have it all be another Evans scheme, to have every song and hope and love and dream come crashing down around her… it made Kelsi wonder whether romance was worth it anymore.

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**A/N:** Behold the last of the great angst. For the people telling me to get Ryan to do something fantastic - well, he already did. ;) (For all of you who haven't read _Songbook_ - firstly, shame on you for reading this without reading the prequel, and secondly, look at "Gift". The _Songbook_ chapter, not the standalone). Can I express my love for all you guys one more time?


	10. Support

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 100 words.

* * *

**Anthology**

_Support_

Kelsi poured out all her frustration about Jason to Ryan's sympathetic ear. He actually understood her and her problems, and could be counted on to never tell anyone what she said in the heat of frustration– not even Sharpay, which made him more reliable than Zeke. He didn't threaten to manfully beat Jason up, which was what Troy or Chad would do if she told them. And he didn't try to give advice unless she asked, so he was easier to talk to than Martha or Taylor. And he gave great hugs.

He was Kelsi's support, and her best friend.

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**A/N:** I'm uploading a two-for-one special today, because I am an awesome, generous person (and because they are both essentially the same drabble). And hey, Thanksgiving is all about giving. However, this does not mean you should not review this chapter. Review, please! I'm completely astounded by how many I've been getting. Think we can top the current record?


	11. Hugs

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 100 words.

* * *

**Anthology**

_Hugs_

"And then he said, 'I'm sorry, Kelsi,' but I could tell he didn't mean it, and then he got into his stupid car with his stupid friends and then I had to _walk_ home, and then he called me…"

Ryan waited patiently for Kelsi to finish her rant. Finally, she stopped, just hiccupping. He didn't know when he had become Kelsi's support group, but this had happened enough that it made him wish Kelsi wasn't so forgiving, so that he could beat Jason up. He drew her into a warm hug, and she leaned on his shoulder, shaking with sobs.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, this is a continuation of "Support". No, I don't like Jason. Yes, I love it when Kelsi gets hugged by Supportive!Ryan. No, I am not a hopelessly romantic sap (okay, yes I am). Yes, I do want reviews. No, I do not have anonymous reviews turned off. Yes, I love you all.


	12. Good Job

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 150 words. I have a lot of 1.5 drabbles, don't I?

* * *

**Anthology**

_Good Job_

As the composer, Kelsi was never thanked.

She was the one who made _everyone else_ look good, "everyone else" being the singers, the dancers, and the actors. They were the ones who got the applause.

But it was closing night of _Twinkle Towne_ when Ryan came up to her, carrying the roses he and Sharpay always received from their friends and admirers. She noticed that the bouquets weren't quite as big as they normally were.

"Good job on the show tonight," said Ryan.

"Oh… thanks," said Kelsi, startled.

"No problem," he said, pulling out a rose from his bouquet. "Here."

Kelsi tried to think of something intelligent to say, but as she opened her mouth, a car honked, and he ran obediently to Sharpay.

She stared at the rose for a while, hoping she wasn't showing anything on her face and resisting the urge to pirouette. _Ryan Evans thanked me!_

* * *

**A/N (also known as Smarty's Fortune Cookie Phrases About Reviews):** Reviews are like presents you can open over and over again.

And... oh my gosh... I HAVE 92 REVIEWS! AHH! I'm only on the twelfth chapter! Last time it took me until almost the end to get this many! AND I'M FABULOUSLY ECSTATIC! AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!! «Imagine that ten times louder and screamed at the top of my virtual lungs.


	13. Famous

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 150 words. I just couldn't stop!

* * *

**Anthology**

_Famous_

"Mr. Evans, do you have any comments about the rumors about you and Ashley Tisdale?"

"Mr. Evans, is it true you're being knighted?"

"I LOVE YOU, RYAN!!"

Ryan struggled against the wave of people who waited outside his dressing room. Girls holding signs fainted as he pushed them out of the way. Microphone-bearing paparazzi hovered over the scene like vultures. Being famous was not everything it was cracked up to be, especially now that his agent wanted him in movies.

Ryan grasped Kelsi firmly by the shoulders and lead her to the limo. His relationship with Kelsi had caused several obsessive fangirls to send hate mail. He hugged her close to him to keep several fans from attaking her. No one would try to hit Kelsi if there was a chance they might hit their own soul mate.

If only they would accept that Ryan's only soul mate was Kelsi.

* * *

**A/N:** Hello, my name is SMARTALIENQT, and I am a fluff-o-holic. (Hello, Smarty). The whole random-fangirls-attacking-Kelsi came from what I remember from the special features of a Beatles movie, where the girls who played the girlfriends in _A Hard Day's Night_ had to be escorted out under guard, because all the jealous fans were basically screaming death threats and climbing on top of the limo.

Reviews are my drug of choice! Well, besides chocolate. And Hurt/Comfort. And Ryelsi fluff.


	14. Opera

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 100 words

* * *

**Anthology**

_Opera_

The paparazzi were inevitable, but being able to see Kelsi's newest composition was worth it. She'd had a Mozart transfusion in college, and now she wrote operas – when she wasn't helping Ryan cope with superstardom or writing musicals.

_I knew Kelsi liked Andrew Lloyd Webber_, Ryan thought, _But I really should have guessed this was good for her when she wrote _Senior Year_ for us_. It had been mostly music, with the plot in between. Kelsi was just made for opera, even if he found the lack of dialogue boring.

And the glowing, giddy excitement on her face made it worthwhile.

* * *

**A/N:** I used to think _Jesus Christ Superstar_ and _Cats_ were boring because they had no words at all. Being only in elementary school, I was under the firm conviction that all good movies were cartoons, had tons of dialogue and flashy scenes, and had songs that were all under three minutes long. Now, I'm a Webbie. (Is that a word?)

And... WOW! WOW! WOW! I have 113 reviews! Last time I had _near_ this many reviews, it was in the (then) seventeenth chapter, and I had to beg and scrape and whine and needle for them. This... this is mind-boggling. This is stunning. This is brilliant and beautiful and amazing and awesome and wow!


	15. Laughter

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 100 words. This one was hard to keep in check!

* * *

**Anthology**

_Laughter_

"Kelsi?" Ryan asked hesitantly.

Kelsi turned away from _Twinkle Towne_ to look up at him. "Yes?"

"Why don't you laugh a lot?" He looked embarrassed at his curiosity.

Kelsi blushed. "I… laugh funny," she confessed in a whisper.

"What?"

"My laugh. It's…" she searched for the words, "… kind of gurgling and high-pitched. My sister says I sound like a toddler," she said, smiling.

"You don't."

"How would you know?" she asked him, looking at her music again.

"Laugh for me, right now."

"_Now?_"

"I'll laugh with you."

Their laughter mingled, his tenor, her alto, until they couldn't laugh anymore.

* * *

**A/N:** It occurred to me that I have never actually heard Kelsi laugh, at least not that I remember. And my laugh has been compared to a strangled goat, so it seemed perfect for this drabble.

And, once more, with feeling, _thank you all for such awesome and amazing reviews!_ Honestly, they are a pleasure to read and reply to.


	16. Maps

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 100 words. Again, cutting it pained me.

* * *

**Anthology**

_Map_

A college road trip was supposed to be fun, carefree, and relaxing. No college road trip movie ever entailed getting lost in Maine, especially if the characters were headed for Pennsylvania.

"I still think we need a map," said Ryan for the fifth time.

Kelsi got back in the car. "Relax. The gas-station man said we just take a left at the next exit, go through Kennebunkport, and get on the interstate."

"Is he related to the one who said we needed to cross the Connecticut River?"

_I actually don't care about getting lost_, he thought._ With you, it's fun._

* * *

**A/N:** I love getting lost. Once I get my own car and my own free time, I'm going out and driving with only a cell phone and change. And I know how clichéd I was with the last line - I just couldn't resist.

Reviews are like warm, fuzzy blankets made of loosely woven awesomeness, embroidered with insight, and studded with little jewels of praise.

I felt poetic today.


	17. Out of Tune

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 100 words. Oh, the pain of cutting!

* * *

**Anthology**

_Out of Tune_

Kelsi watched with a hilarious, though pained, expression as Ryan's accompanist picked out the notes of "Serenade" wrong. Again. Ms. Cordon was like a robot. She plinked out the notes exactly as Kelsi had written them – and it ruined the song. She didn't know that, though that E was marked to continue smoothly into the F, it sounded better if she skimmed her finger over the E sharp key as she went up. She was unaware that the high G there should be held for an extra millisecond.

It was technically correct, but it seemed out of tune.

* * *

**A/N:** If you need help picturing Kelsi's expression, mix her reaction to Sharpay's performance of "What I've Been Looking For" with Ms. Darbus' and Ryan's reactions to the other auditioners.


	18. Late Nights

**Title:** Anthology

**Author:** SMARTALIENQT

**Summary:** Sequel to "Songbook". Twenty more unrelated drabbles based on DC World's challenge. Fluff, spoilers, Ryelsi, Relsi, RyanKelsi, RxK.

**Disclaimer:** Look at the awesome disclaimer in the first chapter, dear. It still applies.

**Word Count:** 150 words. I actually was pretty good about cutting with this one.

* * *

**Anthology**

_Late Nights_

11:00 PM.

Ryan stared at his clock, willing it to go backwards. He needed more time to think.

11:16 PM.

Ryan had often had late nights like these, staying up, thinking about what he was going to do.

11:19 PM

He had never faced a decision like this before. This affected his career, his future, his entire life, really.

11:27 PM

It was the fear of failure that had kept him from deciding sooner. He was young! He could wait. Or, at least, that was what he had told himself for years.

11:34 PM

But they were about to graduate. They would never have another time like this.

11:42 PM

He had to do it now. He'd planned it for months, now. He stared at the small object in his hand, and breathed.

12:00 AM

"Ryan? What… are you… doing here?"

"I just thought we'd take a late night walk."

* * *

**A/N:** I'M SORRY!! FORGIVE ME! I was home later than usual, and I am so, SO sorry for keeping you guys waiting! I can't give you guys an advance chapter right now, but hopefully virtual cookies baked by Zeke (your choice of chocolate chip or cinnamon swirl) will pacify you guys until tomorrow. DON'T KILL ME!!


End file.
